I'm sorry if I have to keep coming back to the issue of the Islamic reaction to Pope Benedict's speech, but I think it's a valuable thread because of what it demonstrates about the dangers of blind faith and extreme beliefs. The latest demonstration of the peaceful nature of Islam comes from Pakistan, where CNN reported yesterday that a group of about a thousand "clerics and religious scholars" said that "The Pope, and all infidels, should know that no Muslim, under any circumstances, can tolerate an insult to the Prophet(Muhammad)...If the West does not change its stance regarding Islam, it will face severe consequences."

Where I come from, that sounds like a threat, delivered by adherents of a religion that burns churches and murders members of other faiths as retaliation for doubting their peaceful nature.

The statement from Pakistan went on to say that "Jihad is waged to rid an area, state, or the world of oppression, violence, cruelty, and terrorism, and bring peace and relief to the people. History is full of incidents where Muslims waged jihad to provide relief to people of many faiths, especially Jews and Christians."

As I firmly believe - and have commented in earlier posts - there is danger in blind faith, no matter whether that faith is Islamic, Christian, Jewish, or anything else. I have often recommended two books for you to read and study, and I do so again: The End of Faith, by Sam Harris; and When Religion Becomes Evil, by Charles Kimball. Both offer profound insights into the dangers of, as Pope Benedict would say, faith without reason. Also worth reading is Bernard Lewis's 2003 essay, "I'm Right, You're Wrong, Go to Hell."

We, as the inheritors of a Western tradition of reason and religious tolerance, must clearly understand the dangers posed by fanatical and unreasoning religious (and political!) beliefs. And the worst part of all this is that the religious fanatic sees absolutely nothing wrong or inconsistent in his position - for his is the one true faith, and if we can't see it, we deserve only to die.

Religious fanatics - no matter what the religion they espouse - do not offer the kind of future in which I want my grandchildren to grow up. Or the kind of future in which I want to live.

Have a good day and a good weekend. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo